After a day of pause, the Canadian stock market resumed its upward momentum on Wednesday, supported by much cooler than expected U.S. wholesale inflation numbers and the ongoing rally in commodity prices. The S&P/TSX Composite Index advanced by 46 points to settle at a fresh record of 32,916 — marking its fourth gain in the past five sessions.
Even as overvaluation worries led the selloff in technology stocks, most other key market sectors ended the session in the green, with energy, materials, and industrials leading the way.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Taseko Mines, Nutrien, Energy Fuels, and G Mining Ventures were the top-performing TSX stocks for the day, with each climbing at least 5.5%.
On the flip side, shares of Aritzia (TSX: ATZ) fell more than 6% to $126.76 apiece, making it the worst-performing TSX stock. This selloff in ATZ stock came after the Canadian fashion retailer announced a $200 million secondary offering of its subordinate voting shares at $130.20 per share.
The sale is being done by Aritzia’s founder and executive chair Brian Hill, who is offloading about 1.54 million shares for estate planning, diversification, and charitable giving, while the company itself won’t receive any proceeds. Even though Hill will remain its largest shareholder with roughly a 15.9% equity stake after the deal, ATZ stock still slid because investors tend to get cautious when a large insider share sale increases near-term selling pressure and adds extra shares to the market.
Shopify, Constellation Software, and Bitfarms were also among the session’s bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange, with each diving at least 5.8%.
Based on their daily trade volume, Canadian Natural Resources, Enbridge, Cenovus Energy, Baytex Energy, and TD Bank were the five most active stocks on the exchange.
TSX today
Commodity prices, especially crude oil, silver, and copper, fell sharply in early morning trading on Thursday as investors continued to monitor global geopolitical developments. These commodity losses could pressure the resource-heavy main TSX index at the open today, with expected weakness in energy and mining stocks.
While no major domestic economic releases are due, Canadian investors will keep an eye on the latest monthly manufacturing and weekly jobless claims data from the U.S. this morning.
Market movers on the TSX today
